Twins Minor League Report (9/1): The (Going Home) Stretch

All that and more can be found below. Let’s start with some transactions.

ALL-STARS

The International League named two members of the Rochester Red Wings to the league’s postseason All-Star team. First baseman Reynaldo Rodriguez and second baseman James Beresford were both very deserving.

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE

Major League Baseball announced their 2015 rosters. The Twins will be represented by seven players. The four pitchers from the Twins organization are Nick Burdi, Jake Reed, Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers. The Twins are sending two catchers, Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver. Adam Brett Walker is the other Twins player who will spend six or seven weeks in the Phoenix area.

TRANSACTIONS

The Twins made official on Tuesday afternoon what we knew here on Monday night. The team recalled pitchers AJ Achter and Michael Tonkin, and infielders Kennys Vargas and Danny Santana. They also put Eric Fryer back on the 40-man roster and called him up. What we didn’t know is the roster move to make that possible. We have since learned that the Twins have out-righted Jason Wheeler from the 40-man roster.

Rochester obviously needed to add some players to make up for the players promoted. Equally obviously, the Twins aren’t going to mess with the Chattanooga roster as they prepare for the playoffs. Eric Farris and Allan de San Miguel came off of the disabled list. Also, Loek Van Mil was in uniform for the Twins. Baseball America had announced that the team had signed him. He last played in affiliated ball in 2013. He has played some in Japan since then.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2

Box Score

The Red Wings are barely holding on in their division. After this loss, Scranton’s magic number to clinch the division over the Red Wings is just one. Rochester does have a little more wiggle room in the wild card hunt, but not much.

Michael Bowden started and gave up just two runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Alex Meyer came on and worked two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two (one intentional) and struck out three.

Unfortunately, the Red Wings weren’t able to muster much offense. In fact, Reynaldo Rodriguez scored the lone run of the game. He got on after striking out and the ball got by the catcher. He advanced to second. He stole third base (his 13^th steal of the year), the throw went into left field and Rodriguez scored.

Aaron Hicks had one of the four Red Wings hits. He played the whole game in right field.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Birmingham 1

Box Score

Adam Brett Walker struggled for about five weeks, but he’s been providing some extra-base hits again of late. On Tuesday night, he hit his 30^th home run of the season to match the number of doubles he has this season. He was 2-4 with a walk and the homer. He also drove in two more runs, giving him 103 on the season, second-best in minor league baseball. Levi Michael went 3-5. Max Kepler went 1-3 with two walks and two RBI. Cleanup hitter Travis Harrison also drove in two runs.

DJ Baxendale gave up just one run on four hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out four. Corey Williams pitched a flawless seventh. Nick Burdi gave up a hit and walked two, but struck out three in a scoreless inning. JT Chargois got the final three outs, two of them via strikeout.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Game 1 – Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 2

Box Score

Kohl Stewart was again good in this game. He went six innings and was charged with only two unearned runs. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. He improved to 7-8 with a 3.20 ERA on the season. Jake Reed picked up his first save with a clean seventh inning.

Chad Christensen led the offense. He went 3-4 with his second and third triples. Mitch Garver was 2-3 with a walk. Logan Wade hit his 21^st double and drove in three runs. Zach Granite was 1-2 and notched his 20^th stolen base.

Game 2 – Ft. Myers 6, Jupiter 1

Box Score

Luke Westphal improved his Miracle numbers to 5-5 with a 2.82 ERA. The southpaw went five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Todd Van Steensel struck out the side in the sixth. Matt Summers gave up a solo home run in the seventh.

LaMonte Wade hit his fourth triple. Aderlin Mejia went 1-2 with a walk. Chad Christensen walked twice. Zach Granite drove in two runs.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 5

Box Score

Sam Clay put together a real solid start, but the Kernels fell with two outs in the ninth.

The left-hander Clay gave up two runs on eight hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out three. He walked two and struck out three. Yorman Landa pitched the next two innings. He gave up two runs on one hit and two walks. Zach Tillery came on for the ninth. He got two outs, but he gave up a run on two hits and a walk to take the loss.

Sean Miller was leading off. He went 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. TJ White went 2-4 with a walk.

E-TOWN E-NOTES

Elizabethton 6, Bristol 1

Box Score

Dereck Rodriguez was named the Appy League Pitcher of the Year last week. Tonight, he put together, arguably, his best start of the year. In six innings, he gave up one run. He allowed seven hits, walked none and struck out 11. He improved to 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA. Onesimo Hernandez threw two shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out two. Kuo Hua Lo worked a scoreless inning to finish the game.

LaMonte Wade went 2-4 with his fifth triple. AJ Murray was 2-3 with a walk and his 11^th double. Brad Hartong and Nelson Molina each went 2-4. Zander Wiel walked twice.

The Elizabethton season is complete.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Elizabethton Twins

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chad Christensen, Ft. Myers Miracle

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (6:5 CST) – TBD

Chattanooga – No Game Scheduled

Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (12:05 CST) – RHP Ethan Mildren

Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario

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